Authors: Beatone Hajong
Our bus peaked it’s speed, galloping it’s wheel faster. Isha still laid with her eyes shut, somewhat lost in dream. I could complete the first page of my diary. For a moment, I sat idle. My eyes directed towards the television screen that played a film on it. Whereas Isha closing in to me, her head laid rested on my shoulder. My diary left open on my lap before me and I could read out the name ‘
Dear Anannya
’ on its top heading.
I couldn’t let my eyes fall into sleep instead I kept waiting for a long stoppage where we could nourish our empty stomach after tired some journey that crapped our body and squeezed us due to deficient of energy that our body needed. I took a interest in watching the film that was being played. I could sense many were under the effect of sleepy mood. In fact all were waiting to refill there empty pouch that kept scrubbing out for food. No package of eatables we did carried only a mineral water bottle laid squeezed tightly in one corner of Isha’s hand bag. She was still peacefully resting her eyes. Hundreds of miles we have covered by now yet the wheel resisted to halt. Even though the depth of hunger ran on everyone’s pouch, the curiosity still remained the same in everyone’s eyes.
Some going back home, some meeting their relatives, some in search of jobs, some just ideally to see the scenic beauty of Goa and I was a wanderer to this world who with no knowledge of where my destiny took me. All I could dream the morning sunrise and the evening sunset that floated on my eyes. The last horizon reeled on my eyes, and I could see walking myself alone thinking about Anannya fluttering through the breeze that touched by and the smooth loosely crippled sand that my steps followed. Sort of realization hit on my head. But now I have learned to live with the real feelings of life. The lost of Love changed my path. It took a time with tears and sorrow, I gradually grew strong and learned to say the new phrase of my life. The darkness of the night gradually grew deeper and deeper and our smooth running wheel softly sweeping through the wide empty highway glowing out its head spot light that cleaned the presence of dark on its way.
“You’re still awake” Isha hissed softly. Her eyes half opened.
“Yeah”.
She drank the water from her squeezed bottle. I could sense she felt a lot better after a long hour rest. She settled her hair smoothly. Took a breath to feel free. She needed some air now, tried to swift out the glass of her window. I pulled for her and the air struck in with force inside, due to the effect of speeding wheel.
“Thanks” Isha shrugged. I nodded my head.
“Your face did turned unpleasant. Why that so??” Isha squawked peeking her deep gaze at my face. She happened to take a glance at my diary that laid opened on my lap.
“What you wrote there” she inquired.
The silence still covered me. She grabbed it and began to read out softly. She peeked her eyes as she proceeded to read out the words. Her voice softly hissed. Words murmuring out from her soft spoken lips. While in the process she happened to glance at me with deep sighed. She further reads ahead. I could observe her silhouette reflecting from the glass window. She closed the diary. Her face turned away from me. The silence hovered, the heart beat raced faster.
“Keep writing” her voice hissed softly.
I could feel that she had the impact on my words. Every line she read her inner emotions broke out. Her face I could read out. She felt the ache of what I was growing through. All my inner thoughts she could huddle within herself. Her eyes stood silence with deep layers of worldly sorrows. She avoided to look at me for minutes.
“I had no freaking idea I’d meet a guy like you here” her voice shook in deep breath. I managed to charm out a smile.
She glared at me “Why did you love her so much?”.
A question of such trembled me. For a moment I never expected she would claim me such interrogative statement. My face transformed into shabby expression with no hints to reply her back.
“I just don’t know. I loved her” my voice fickle out.
“It’s ok. I understand” said Isha in her consoling tone.
“Will this bus stop anywhere” she squeaked.
“Perhaps, somewhere on the way”.
She handed me her shapeless bottle offering sip of water.
“Drink this water, you look very pale. You’ll be freshen up”.
I wisely took it from her hand and accepted to swallow the liquid.
“How do you feel now” she intended know.
“Well, I’m feeling better”.
“Now stop thinking about her for a while for heaven sake”.
“Alright I’m fine” I added.
She smiled out patting her hand on my head. I dropped my diary back to where it belonged. She took out her handy cam. She pressed some buttons on it and it started to play.
“Hey, check this video out “ she shifted her body slightly closer to me.
“Whose video is that”.
“Well, that’s me and that’s my mom”.
“Wow! You look different”.
“Really” her voiced yelled out loud.
“Yeah!! Different”.
“ I shot this before coming to India. I thought I would be missing Mom for a month” said Isha. I jerked out to put a smile on my face.
“So, what’s about you” Isha brings her interest out in knowing my family.
“Well, I call everyday both my Mom and Dad”.
“Do you have any siblings” Isha flaunted her voice firmly.
“Yes! I’ve two sisters and a brother. What about you”.
“Well, I’m the only one. I miss any one of such call sisters or brothers” she sighed.
“Hey..you didn’t say about your boyfriend” my voice jerked suddenly.
“What” she yelled out.
“I guess, I questioned wrong”.
“Well..no...no..It’s fine. I don’t have anybody. I’m single” she broke out her chubby smile.
The time crossed out to be 12:00am the next day, taking a glance at my wrist watch. And yet our bus travelling with that same inertia from the beginning. The hunger stabbed on everyone’s empty pouch, eagerly waiting for halting at a roadside inn. The highway gradually grooved into silence only the noise of our engine could be feebly heard into our ears. The road seemed haunted with no sign of any head lights coming from the opposite direction. We were speeding much faster now. There was no necessary of blowing horn for granting side as the road laid empty with no wheels crossing us. Isha directed her eye sight towards the television screen.
“Well, I have no idea what the dialogue is being said” she said.
“It’s a typical Hindi film” I squinted.
“Yeah!!! My Mom loves to see such typical Indian Movies”.
“What about you then” I added.
“Well I have no such taste of Indian cinema. I would probably use it for idle hours” she grinned.
I gestured nodding my head at her prolific comment about Indian Cinema.
“So, you like the ethnicity of Hollywood” my voice chirped out.
“Yeah ! definitely..from the time I was born there. I never heard much about Indian cinema. It’s my Mom who keeps telling me every now and then”.
“Your Mom must be very aware about the Indian Culture” my tone got dimmer.
“Yeah! She knows much more then what I thought” said Isha managing to stretched her neck out through the window.
I never knew she had some coquette behaviour that could define herself as such woman.
“Are you crazy. You are going to hurt yourself....Come in” with firm concern on my voice.
Isha tried to peep outside, completely exposing out her head through the window.
“I’m tasting the fragrance of dark flower that strongly ran mixing into this night air” she grinned. “Well, the cinema goes empty without you”.
“Just forget it” she diverted her interest from the screen towards the outside phenomena.
“Look, I can feel how fast our wheel is moving” she softly screamed her voice.
I peeked at her with a smile. “Must be feeling like sitting on a plane” my tone got sharper.
She laughed aloud. “Was that a sarcastic criticism” she laughed again.
I put a smile on my face as she glanced back at me. She pulled herself in.
“This is so creepy on a lonely road only our wheels moving faster than the world could rotate” she whispered.
I burst to glimpse at her with a sunken smile with a possessive attention. She peeked her eyes at me and glitz out an expression that induced me into some unknown knowledge of persona that appeared on her face.
“You don’t feel anything” Isha groaned.
“What”.
“Something awkward” she tried to intricate to me.
“The lonely road”.
“Yeah! Somewhat of that kind” she hissed.
“Well, it’s late night...it’s obvious the traffic get diminished by that time”.
The peak of our conversation heaped at its height. We almost travelled for more than five hours by now sitting in that same seat. However, we are yet to go more until the sun would shine it’s light by dawn. Lastly I could feel the brake of the wheel being applied. Thus, terminating the speed of the wheel and finally made a halt on a roadside inn for the late night supper. Everyone rushed out in hurry, tending to catch first the empty available seat. I could blurred out from the window, it had almost a capacity of hundred people’s chair. So, for us there was no urgent rule to step out from the halting bus.
“Won’t you go outside to get something” Isha inquired me.
“Yeah Sure....I’m stepping out for some time. Lets fill our empty pouch” I made a suggestion to her.
“Yeah....I’m hungry too” said Isha.
We clipped out of our seat to step out and took the fresh air that blew fluently outside. Isha followed behind me as I marched towards the inn. Empty seats by now has filled with many. Yet, there were ample available for others too. I dragged myself to one of the dining table consisting of two chairs. I pulled one for me and handled the other for Isha. She sat calmly and quietly with no indication of any words from her mouth.
“What would you like to have” I asked her humbly.
She shifted her chair comfortably and glanced at the menu bar that laid hung before us few meters away on the wall. She could read out the item Alu Paratha. With no extra thought she ordered to have an Alu Paratha. So, did I joined her with the same menu. Along with that some chicken gravy was the addition.
“I didn’t even think of such experience in my life” she hindered her words.
“It’s new dimension that you’re going through” I added.
“Yeah!..you can say so. I never thought I would meet a nice guy like you here”.
“Oh!! C’mon don’t me feel embarrass by saying nice guy to me”.
Jasmine grinned “ Why aren’t you nice guy??”.
I folded my hands, placing it on the table, my lips slowly got wet through some streams of saliva pausing to peek at her for seconds until she made a second glance at me.
“Do you think I’m a nice guy to you” sharpened my tone.
Isha griddled at my face puzzling. “Yeah!..why you’re considering bad to yourself”.
I widened to put a smile on my face at her grilling comment.
“You know it touched me the thing you wrote about Anannya in your diary” she softly spoke.
“I do miss her very much now. Indeed the love grew more stronger now for her”.
“I can understand the thing. Yet, I’m helpless. Up to extreme I can console you out” Isha’s voice gets deeper.
She pulled her chair more closer to me. We were seated unlike the normal manner not facing opposite to each other but together in the same line being closer to each other.
“Man you got to write your story fast, I’m in very excitement to know what went wrong between you both” she inserted with interest in her voice.
“It’s going to be long describing about her and the intimacy of both” said I.
“Doesn’t matter, it’s going to be the best story and the experience one could ever fold in life”.
“I believe I made the right choice”.
“You did..and with great courage” she added.
“Hey!! Isha.... Can I ask you something??” my voice said feebly.
“Sure”.
“According to you...Is Love a painful duty” my voice numbed.
“I don’t think there’s any relevant with such obscurity. Indeed Love is not perfectly a duty” she patted her hand on my shoulder.
I gestured to nod my head. Within that time our table was served with Alu Paratha and the chicken gravy. Isha glimpsed at first and then turned her face towards me and closely pushed a smile on her face.
“C’mon lets proceed with the recipe” she ingested me.
She took a bite of Paratha “Wow! It taste excellent”.
I slowly moved around my hand and tore a bit out of my plate to pushed it on my mouth.
“Yeah!! It do really taste good” clutching the glass on my hand.
“You still think about her” Isha grinned.
“I know not exactly what goes on in my mind”.